Coaster wagon



Feb. 20, 1951 W H ROCKMAN 2,542,433

COASTER WAGON Filed Aug. 9, 1948 /7 INVENToR.

WAL TER H. RGO/(MAN 3/ A TTORNEY Patented Feb. 20, i951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2 Claims.

The invention, in general',v relates to amusement as well as utility devices for children, and more particularly relates to an improved coaster Vehicle incorporating unique steering mechanism of facile manipulation as well as removable units for ready replacement to afford increased life of the vehicle.

Numerous coaster wagons of variable types have heretofore been marketed primarily for use by young boys andgirls mainlyA for amusement or for the practice of some' small enterprise, such as newspaper deliveries or the like. The majority of these prior coaster wagons are of but short life largely because of their `frail construction and inability to withstand normalchild abuse, such as handling appreciably heavy loads. Moreover, these prior vehicles inherently are disadvantageous due to the lack of provision therein of means enabling ready and facile dismantling of parts for repair or replacement. In addition, many of these prior wagons have faulty steering mechanisms rendering them dangerous for the average boy or girl tov use and often causing injuries otherwise preventable by proper construction. The present invention'is directed to the provision of an improved coaster wagon which is so `fabricated as to withstand substantially al1 the abuse that can be applied thereto in normal play, which is so constructed as to obviate the many disadvantages of prior makes, and which is adaptable for use by adults in many environments because of its rugged fabrication and its ability to handle appreciably heavy loads.

A primary object of my invention is to provide a coaster wagon which affords ready and facile removal of worn or damaged parts and equally easy assembling of renacement parts.

Another'important object of the present invention is to provide an improved coaster wagon of the indicated nature which is additionally characterized by the inclusion therein of positive acting, easily manipulated steering means.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a coaster wagon of the aforementioned character which is of sturdy, rugged fabrication aiording the hauling of appreciably heavy loads and lending durability and long life thereto.

-Other `objects of the invention, together with some of the advantageous features thereof, will appear from the following description of a preferred embodiment of the invention whichl is illustrated in the accompanying drawings. It is to lbe understood that I am not to be limited to the precise embodiment shown, nor to the precise arrangement of the various parts thereof, as my invention, as defined in the appended claims, can be embodied in a plurality and Variety of forms.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary, front elevational View of the preferred embodiment cf the invention.

Fig. 3 is a perspective View of the steering control mechanism, omitting the steering post and handle, of the preferred embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary, plan view of a preferred embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged elevational view, partly in section, of the wheel assemblyand mounting employed in a preferred embodiment of the invention.

` In its preferred form, the improved coaster Wagon of my invention preferably comprises a frame, inverted U-shaped front and rear axle supporting members detachably connected to said frame, steering control means detachably connected to said front axle supporting member, together with ground-engaging wheels removably mounted on axles carried by Said axle supporting members and a steering post detachably connected to said steering control means` As particularly illustrated in Figs. l and 4 of the accompanying drawings, the present invention is embodied in a rugged, sturdy frame, designated generally by the reference numeral II, consisting of a pair of sides I2 and I3 which are integral with front and rear elements I4 and l5,

respectively, all fabricated from ange iron, as shown, to provide a rectangular-shaped frame. I also preferably so fabricate the frame Il as to include thereon front and rear, inclined apron supporting elements I t and I 1, respectively, of angle iron stock; the front apron supporting elements serving as means for detachably mounting a front bumper I8 on the frame while the rear apron supporting elements serve to detachably mount a rear bumper I9 thereon.

Removably mounted on frame II, by means of suitable screW-bolts 20 are generally U-sliaped front` and rear axle supporting members ZI and 22, respectively, both fabricated of dat bar stock and connectedto the frame II in inverted-U positions, as shown.v The rear axle supporting member 22 includes straight legs 23 which depend therefrom at opposite ends of a transverse bar 24 spanning the sides I2 and I3 of the frame, and thus such rear axle supporting member lends additional strength and support to the rear of the wagon for handling heavy loads. Front axle supporting member 2l, while of generally in- 55 are provided in the pivotal connections of verted-U-shape, includes a flat bar 26, of shorter the steering knuckles as well as in -the pivotal length than the nat bar 2li of the rear axle supconnections of the knuckles with the cross-bar port 22, as Well as a pair of depending legs 21 52 of the steering control means.

and 28 extending from opposite ends of the bar 5 Link 6I of the steering control is provided with 26; each of the depending legs 21 and 28 being a boss 66 at its outer extremity; the boss havout-turned at the bottom thereof to provide ing a socket 61 formed therein for receiving a laterally extending projections 29 thereon. In steering post 68 which is firmly held in upright addition, a laterally extending projection 30 is position by a pin or screw 69 piercing'the boss secured to each of the dependingilegs 2l ,and 28;,10 and post through,`l openings.; 10gV- 'A Iconfventional of front axle supporting member 2l in spaced handle 1i; Aprovided with` a hand-or finger grip relationship to the lateral projection 29 for pur- 12 is pivotally connected to the steering post 68 poses of mounting the unique steering control.. through the medium of a bifureated connector means of my improved coaster Wagon,'ashere; 13,", and@` pin 14 piercing both elements of the inafter described. i5 connector 13 as well as piercing a head 15 on v the rear axles are rmly, butdetachablyconiswanabnormal Weight inthe case'of usual child Ysteering knuckles aswell as the lateralprojec.-

As is customary, four ground-engaging,.vvlfleels.A the.h upper .endfof the steering post 68. The 3|, 32, 33 and 34, arranged in transversely,alignediv entiresteeringcontrol means, together with atpairs, are provided for supportingr the frame Il.- tached steering post, is detachably connected to The rear wheels 3i and 32 are suitably journaledi Vthe...frame il by means of a clamp member 16, in the depending legs 23 of rear axle supporting 20 together with suitable screws piercing the clamp member 2210i/ means ,Oflroller bearnge-f3aaefl; @gegenber-i I Diff frame-tegenin with shortlaxles"l'seeFig. 5 ofthe drawingsueach: dispose brace, rod, 18.-. inl2fgral with; of which consists ol aheavybolt having anexternal, enlarged head'GS.. thereon which simulatesa hub-cap. Asvshown y. in Fig. 5`,Ifthe.rear. v fl `lu Thus, Ytriest axlesiepiele @presea spared fini Sectielisf me post-wiihfattaphee medie-.aswenasther andv Lwhich'together define a rim felly 43,as entire steering control means can bei. readily- .l Wellaspierce at its reduced portion All thedetaken? @19W` .n

pendinglegs'ZSV of ther-ear axle support, and: agunit .to

nected in operative position by means ofsuitable nuts 45. A conventional hard rubber .t1re`f46 is" securely fastened,fpre`ferably by means cof!" cement, to each rim felly 43.

As"wi1l be observed, the`construction.,thusyr afforded by the assembly andQdetachable mount i ing' of the indicatedv parts to frame If, vvith the axle supporting members 2| and 22` and detachablymounted Wheels 3i to 36` inclusiveuen; ables ready and facile dismantling of the 'fronti and rear 'axle' supporting membersasvvvell`as. the ground-engaging Wheels simply by 'looseningj and removing bolts 2U. and 31.. It isa somewhat remotepossibilty that it everwould beneces-- v sary. to remove the vvaxle.supports2i. andfu22 for, f n e learly;A repair orfreplacernentv as .the.'coas,ter, x'fvagorrof,f4 N my present .invention has 'been successfullyemrr r ployedV with a load'in excessof 190' pounds, which playvwith'the Wagon, WithoutY warpingv or otherv wise damaging suchmembers or anyother pore,A tion of the Wagon( d v In accordance with my invention, the present,v embodiment is equipped with unique steeringy control means, designated generally bythe ref; l erence numeral'i, comprising a cross-bar .52., on. the opposite ends of which arenpivotally l mounted a`pair of steering knuckles 53and,54 each-.of Whichrterminates in afork. 56 of spaced/ elements 51 and 58.. Pivot pins or boltsy59gpiercee. each ofthe elementsv 58 oi" each fork fof *the eelestluetlirapretereizly.

tions 36 of theffrontaxle supporting memberf 2l carried'on the leg's21 and ithereof, andpivfot t I Y y pins ,or, bolts. 66..,pierce each of the elements ture 8l as W Y, W of the foksa'as Well as the later-any exi'. 'A' 311911931,Offlihzfmenaliwi. O.1f.ff.d.S.1Id,.theltrllrr tending projections 29 at the bottoms of theA turel;canjoedetachablyonnecteldqtothefrangia legsl and `28.1oftheA iront axle supporting mem-1, I l,bylusingrclips;8V ygetl/ ier with suitable screwber .21.' To complete the. mounting of the ,steer-. bolts.- Inprderft attractiveness of.;V inggcontrol meails-l, I provide a pair of links-0 6Ija'nd;62 which are pivotally connected together bymeans oa pivotpin 63 with link 62', in turn,` pil'votallyA connectedrzby means ,of either pivot pin 647er pin tolone or the other of the-steerg.. ingr yknuckles lxlorV 54. Suitabled grease ,fittings.75-j

strutureilaean Y otherwise securely fastened to the apron supports I6 and il at the front and rear, respectively, of the frame Il to lend rigidity to the super-structure- In order that the improved coaster wagon of my present invention can be employed by children with utmost safety, I provide suitable brake shoes 84 for the rear ground-engaging wheels 3i and 32, together with suitable linkage 85 for actuating such brakes whenever' desired. While shown only in fragmentary View in Fig. 1 of the drawings, the linkage 85 can be extended to the steering handle ll for facilitating movement thereof by one or the other hand which normally holds the handle for steering the Wagon.

In view of the simplicity of its` construction, the coaster wagon of the present improvement can be manufactured at a relatively low coast and, since the various unitary operating elements thereof can be assembled and detachbly connected to the main frame of the wagon, the improvement is of appreciably long life as parts thereof can readily be substituted for worn or damaged parts. Moreover, because of the sturdiness of the frame and the ruggedness alorded by the manner of connecting the various elements and members together, inclusive of steering control means, the wagon is capable of withstanding appreciable abuse as well as excessively heavy loads.

It is to be understood that the appended claims are te be accorded a range of equivalents commensurate with the Scope of the advance made over the prior art.

I claim:

l. In a coaster wagon, in combination a front axle supporting member, depending legs on opposite ends of said member, a rst laterally extending projection on each of said legs, a second laterally extending projection on each of said legs in spaced relation to said rst laterally extending projection, a cross-bar, steering knuckles pivotally mounted on opposite ends of said crossbar, a fork of spaced elements on each of said steering knuckles, pivot pins extending through the spaced elements of said fork as well as through said first and second laterally extending projections of said axle supporting member, and a pair of links pvotally connected together as well as to at least one of said steering knuckles.

2. In a coaster wagon as defined in claim 1, and including a boss having a socket therein secured to one link of said pair of links, and a steering post fixedly seated in the socket of said boss,

WALTER H. ROCKMAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 779,606 Keyes Jan. 10, 1905 1,457,117 London et al. May 29, 1923 1,502,659 Carlson July 29, 1924 1,659,245 Delker Feb. 14, 1928 1,973,747 Bukolt Sept. 18, 1934 2,193,411 Sheldon Mar. 12, 1940 2,444,386 Trabucco June 29, 1948 

